Resource Management for Requests and Tasks

[DeborahLeigh123]

Greetings - I'm looking for some help regarding resource management allocation when someone owns tasks AND requests. I like how tasks give duration and time. Whereas, Requests dont give that option. How can I make our requests and tasks both behave similarly in the Resource Management tool?

Do we need to convert the request to a task on a timeline to get the same behavior? 

Any and all help would be appreciate. Thank You! Deborah

[Richard_Le_ · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Yes, spot on. Requests will need to be converted into tasks, or projects with tasks to get the same behaviour.

In Workfront, Requests are generally seen as just that, an "ask" for work to be done. They don't represent work that has been committed to, or planned into your Workflow. The act of converting a request into a task or project is like accepting the work so that it can be planned accordingly. When you convert a request into a task you have much more flexibility around timeline, hours, dependencies etc., that will feed the resourcing area of the system with the information it needs.

Best Regards,

Rich.

[DeborahLeigh123]

Thank you so much for replying so quickly! This helped me get back on track and get the conversation going, Thank you!

[KellieGWAB]

@DeborahLeigh123 - Out of curiosity, what are you using to see resource demand and capacity? Are you using Resource Planner or Workload Balancer? 

Requests/Issues do have the option for planned hours and actual hours as well as planned start and end dates so they can function similarly to tasks. 

As an admin I do work on tasks and requests and I just make sure to update my planned dates and hours on my requests so it accurately reflects in the planner and balancer.

[DeborahLeigh123]

I'm using Workload Balancer currently. And, thank you for the screenshot as well! This is all so very helpful!

[skyehansen]

submitted requests that have a duration, also have planned hours equal to this duration (e.g. if you set your request queue topic to have a default duration of 1 day, the request will always come in with 8 hours). What I tend to suggest -- as a workaround -- is that I can key the queue topic to whatever duration equates to the amount of time they plan to spend on something.

e.g. if a request is going to take you two hours, I'll key the default duration to 0.25 days. This way, at least your capacity comes in accurately from the start. Then it's up to the assigned user to set their planned completion date (this doesn't change the original planned hours). If the team has a set SLA, you can also use fusion to reset the planned completion date after the request is submitted.

[DeborahLeigh123]

Thank you for this great information! I'm taking all of this back to my team, and discussing the path forward. Thank you very much!

BTW - Am I able to click "Correct reply" to multiple answers in the Community? I feel every answer today was incredibly helpful!

[skyehansen]

LOL I know, right? It's also difficult when you get three completely different answers that are all some flavor of correct based on your situation. It's not a contest, so just feel free to pick one that resonates the most for your specific situation and I promise the rest of us do not have hurt feelings about it.